Nevertheless, nothing has yet to surpass the conventional `word of mouth’ method. When consumers seek to make a purchase, most will still seek their friends/acquaintances’ recommendations as their most trusted source of information. This means, word of mouth is still the most powerful advertising tool in the world, regardless of country, region or socio-economic background.

The second most `trusted’ source of information that influences buying behaviour are newspaper and TV ads.

Our deductions based on these observations boil down to this preliminary surmise:That consumers tend to rely on trust-based advertising, when deciding on a purchase.

Meanwhile, the high costs and high distribution volumes of newspaper and TV ads lends credo to the brand appearing in them. This is because consumers tend to believe that only brands with strong financial backgrounds, backed by reputable companies, will gain media value and publicity than those that do not advertise on either medium.Due to trust developed over time, word of mouth continues to be the dominant factor influencing consumer buying behaviour.

Bloggers has gained more trust than magazines nowadays too.

So what can you do to tap into this information?

1) Use newspapers and videos as marketing medium for your business

2) Focus on the following demographics: 18 – 22 / 23-27 /28-32 / 33-37. Surveys have shown that those belonging to the `Baby Boomer’ or older generation are simply not as internet-savvy.

We launched a Facebook page called “Malaysia’s Largest Clothes Buffet” and managed to attract more than 1000 likes and talk-abouts within the first week of launch.Our sister event management company, LINs Comm Sdn Bhd has launched Malaysia’s Largest Clothes Buffet in April 2014. We fully understood that most of our target customers fell within 18 – 30 years old, and it was the perfect time to engage and attract crowds via social media and newspaper.

A few days before the Clothes Buffet at Syopz Mall @ Taylors Lakeside, we created a few contests to further boost engagement with our fans and prompt them about our upcoming event.

The Kuala Lumpur International Gifts & Premium Fair (KLIGP) is endorsed by MATRADE as the Southeast Asia’s largest gifts and premium fair. This year the launching of the KLIGP Mobile App encouraged the visitors to register themselves using their phones, instead of waiting in a long queue. The KLIGP Mobile App helped reduce the waiting time from 5 minutes to 2 minutes and ease the registration process altogether. More than 1500 visitors pre-registered themselves for the event and we have recorded more than 10,000 visitors in total over the 3-day period.

We have also launched a lot of advertisements in different publications such as Nan Yang Siang Pau, Sin Chew Jit Poh, The Star Newspaper, Berita Harian, Business Today etc.

With the presence of Dato’ Noraini Ahmad, Chairman of MATRADE and other guests of honour, we attracted multiple media owners to cover our event at the PWTC from June 4 – 6, 2014.

The total earned media coverage garnered was estimated to be more RM100, 000.

So talk to us – your 360o advertising, marketing and branding consultant – to find out more about how we can help you create complete marketing strategies that get you more fans and generate more revenues for your business!

We ensure that our clients gain valuable insights and information about their customers as we want to generate fans to your business. In order to do so, thorough analysis and market research and segmentation are required.

Like this:

“A company can spend millions of dollars building a brand with amazing equity – but if nobody buys it, what do they have? Absolutely nothing. Marketers are responsible for affecting behaviour, whether that’s purchase or consumption.”

“MARKETING” magazine, May-June Edition 2014

Let’s say it for what it is. Brand-building is a marketing strategy that costs money up front. It’s an initial outlay, where you invest a significant amount of hard-earned money, in the hope that it will bring you greater returns in time to come.

So this begs the question: Is it worth spending money on a branding effort – which includes advertising and marketing – in expecting returns from your branding campaign, at the end of the proverbial day?

As a general rule of thumb, companies are advised to spend around 5% of their total revenue on marketing to maintain their current market position. Companies looking to grow or gain greater market share should budget for a higher percentage, usually circa 10%.

Exceptions of course apply, but mostly to companies that have already attained economies of scale, and also a certain market awareness of their brands.

Cost to reach 1000 people online

Walmart, for instance, only spends approximately 0.4% of their annual sales revenue on advertising. But because of their significantly high volume of sales, this equals a substantial advertising budget amount that can accomplish the same magnitude of brand-building and marketing ROI as another retailer’s larger percentage.

In short, the higher the volume of sales a business does, the lower the percentage of sales they can expect to spend, to expect similar outcomes.

With approximately 50% of marketing funds channelled towards building brand awareness, companies that have established a strong brand-footing in their given markets have a competitive edge when it comes to how much they will have to spend to maintain their brand awareness. If a company’s target market is not familiar with either the company itself or the brand of products or services it offers, the percentage of sales revenue budgeted towards marketing will need to be higher.

Here’s a glimpse into how much the top 10 global brands spent on advertising in 2013

Rank

Brand

Brand Value ($bil)

Brand Revenue ($bil)

Company Advertising
($mil)

1

Apple

104.3

156.5

1,100

2

Microsoft

56.7

77.8

2,600

3

Coca-Cola

54.9

23.5

3,342

4

IBM

50.7

104.5

1,339

5

Google

47.3

43.5

772

6

McDonald’s

39.4

88.3

788

7

General Electric

34.2

132.1

NA

8

Intel

30.9

53.3

2,000

9

Samsung

29.5

181

4,398

10

Louis Vuitton

28.4

9.4

4,211

Source: Forbes Magazine

The world’s top 10 brands spent a total of US$20,500 million in 2013 alone, to achieve a combined brand value and brand revenue worth US$ 476.3 billion and US$869.9 billion, respectively.

Global Online Advertising Spending

Now, were you the competitor of any of these 10 largest brands, would you be willing to spend US$20,500 million on advertising alone, just to outdo your competition?

Even if you could afford to do so, should you really fork out so much money on advertising?

Is advertising an effective way of marketing your product or service?

If yes, where should you start spend your advertising money?

And how much?

The key to answering the preceding questions is to really drill down and understand your business in and out.

By doing a strategic business analysis, you would be able to understand your brand equity even better, and this will assist you in making wiser decisions – including setting your marketing and advertising budget, as well as determining whether your existing marketing channel is working for you now and in the future.

The best way to do so is to sit down with a brand consultant, who will be able to provide you with not only insight, but also fore- and hindsight into your business.

So talk to us at LINs.AD today – your 360o advertising, marketing and branding solutions partner – and together, we’ll figure out the most viable way to promote your brand to your intended market.

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Are you one of the many start-ups’ founders who argue that there is not enough resources or time for brand building?

Read on.

branding

In every business category today, more businesses are being commoditized by the sheer abundance of choices customers have. This is true if your business sells products or provides services, and it holds true, whether your business is large or small.

For many start-up CEOs in their first and second rounds of funding, their focus is usually on product development rather than creating a value proposition that will form the strategic direction of their fledgling enterprise.

Actually, building a brand starts with having the right mindset, which has very little to do with the amount of money you have.

Benefits of strong branding for your Business in long run:-

1) Top of the mind recall by target customers

2) Turn customers into fans / indirect “promoters”

3) Attract and secure blue-chip investors

4) Command premium prices and greater profit margins when everyone else is fighting the price war

5) A reduced sales cycle

6) Secure return customers

7) Differentiate your brand from other brands that are already in the market for a long time

Branding Guidelines

If you have started your branding effort, congratulations!

If you have not started yet, find out why branding is the most crucial part for a start-up company here.

In South East Asia, the startup scene is becoming highly contested. But while there are five million start-ups. only about one million of them are interesting and only half them are good but only a quarter will get funding and 10% will gain traction and only five percent will make it.

You can have the most innovative, groundbreaking product ever conceived, but if you can’t create a strong foundation for communicating that value to the marketplace, chances are the business won’t go far. Developing a strong brand is critical to the early success of start-ups.

Your start-up should be able to tell their stories, shape their products, and otherwise create a world-class, user-centric brand from the very beginning.

Your value proposition is not about the products or services you sell. Your value proposition must articulate a highly valued outcome the customer desires. Think of your value proposition as a “castle in the mind” of your customers and clients.

If your company’s brand seems unclear and its purpose appears scattered, this can be detrimental to the future of the company. If potential customers are confused on what you are offering, they won’t stick around long to try to figure it out.

Branding is not simply thinking of a creative and eye-catching logo (although that is important). It involves many other important aspects, too.

There are many definitions about what a brand is. Regardless of how the idea of a brand is defined, a strong and enduring start-up brand requires three well-designed components:1) Brand Identity: –
The essence of what your brand represents to customers. It is “who” the brand is. This is represented by symbols, language, and the culture or heritage of the organisation. Your customers judge you by your brand personality.2) Brand Promise: –
The benefit your brand brings to customers. This is “what” the brand provides that is highly valued and not in abundant supply. These associations are based in the functional, rational and emotional benefits customers receive from the brand. Your brand promise should be consistent throughout the years. Ever enduring campaigns should deliver the same message using different ways that engage customers.3) Brand Experience: –
The tangible experience customers have in their interaction and transaction with the brand. This is “how” the brand delivers on its promise. These associations are based in real life engagement with products, people and places. A smile on customers’ face dictates the life and death of your brand. It’s always the small little tiny things that you do, that makes a difference.

Some questions to ask yourself about your company brand: –

1) Have you defined your brand values?

Yes

No

If yes, how do these brand values affect how you interact with
your customers?2) Have you defined your brand personality?

Yes

No

If yes, what are these traits, and how are they expressed?3) Have you defined a value proposition?
( your offer, the benefits and value to your customers)

Yes

No

If yes, describe your value proposition.

4) Do you have a positioning strategy for your brand?
(e.g. leaders, innovators, niche operators, etc.)

Yes

No

5) If yes (to Question 4), how you are positioned in relation to your competition?6) Are your organisational structure and culture aligned with your brand values?

Yes

No

7) Do your employees understand the brand and what it means for their roles?

Yes

No

8) What level of brand awareness do you have in your market?

1. Low awareness

5. High awareness

(5 being high, 1 being low)9) Does your brand image (what you look like) accurately represent what you stand for?

Yes

No

If yes, describe why your image accurately represents what you stand for and if no, describe why not.10) Is your brand image distinctive and easy to recognise?

Yes

No

If yes, describe what makes it distinctive and easy to recognise.

11) Are you communicating your brand consistently?

Yes

No

12) Do you have guidelines that describe how the brand should be used and managed?

Yes

No

13) Do you allocate spendings on branding and communication each year?

Yes

No

If you have answered “No” to most of the questions, you should be sitting down with your business partner(s) and evaluating your business in the long run. Most probably, there is no brand strategy underlying your business venture, and you will find that improper brand positioning actually does more harm than good. You might be losing lots of business and partnership opportunities without you realising it.

What is 4As Agency?
The 4As are an abbreviation for the `Association of Accredited Advertising Agents’ of Malaysia. This organisation was founded in the 1960s to promote good advertising and ensure that the public is better informed of the availability of goods and services.

In doing so, this Association also champions the interests of ad agencies vis-a-vis their clients, i.e. advertisers. The Association deals with industry issues and makes recommendations to its members. It negotiates for better practices with other industries and industry bodies with direct and indirect relationships with the advertising business.

It also liaises with the Government and other bodies on matters affecting the work of advertising as a whole, in representing its members’ interest as responsible, professional practitioners of advertising. The 4As of Malaysia also engages the business community in regular dialogue, in its desire to demonstrate to businesses the relevance of advertising, and the vital role it plays as an undeniably effective vehicle of marketing communication.

Put simply, this Association also plays the role of educator, by providing its members and the industry with a regular supply of advertising personnel via the regular training programmes it conducts.

Membership of this prestigious Association generates approximately 80% of the total advertising volume placed by agencies nationwide. Although virtually all of the large, multinational agencies are members, more than 60% of the membership consists of smaller, yet equally talent-staffed agencies.
.
The 4As of Malaysia is not a club. Rather, it’s a management-oriented association that offers its members the broadest possible services, expertise and information regarding the advertising agency business.

It collects and shares information and ideas affecting advertising agencies and other marketing communications organisations among members and other interested parties. And that means that A&W, for example, has its finger on the pulse of the marketing world, so we know what’s going on and when it’s happening.

There’s also the high standard of social responsibility that the 4As of Malaysia requires of its advertising agency members. All member agencies are expected to continually help improve the efficiency and value of advertising and other marketing communications by fostering and stimulating scientific research and investigation advantageous to the advertising industry as a whole.

The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents of Malaysia is more than just a trade association; it’s a collection of talented, accomplished individuals from all industry disciplines, dedicated to sharing their own experiences and best practices with a larger community. When these letters (AAAA) appear on any collateral, it’s a way of telling everyone that we not only have the resources to get the best possible marketing results for our clients, but that we’re also held to a standard of advertising excellence and ethics that are par excellence.

How are 4As Agencies Different?

Here are some of our core values and practises, and they are very stringently imposed and monitored by the Association:

Boomerang Membership Accreditation Programme is launched by 4As Malaysia to boost the industry by introducing point based system that ensures that all members who fulfil the point requirements stay as ordinary members.

Putra Brand Awards is the premier brand awards in Malaysia and it is the only brand award of, by and for the brand managers and owners.

Launched in 2010 by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) in association with the Malaysia’s Most Valuable Brands (MMVB), the Putra Brand Awards to recognize brand building as an integral business investment, measured by consumer preference.

For those who haven’t heard of it, GFP is an intensive programme whereby selected graduates undergo on-the-job training at sponsoring agencies for three months. They also attend training in the evening at 95% The Advertising Academy.

The sponsoring agencies and the 4As fully fund the programme, valued at RM11,500 per person (including a monthly fellowship allowance of RM2,000). Applicants have to undergo a stringent interview process.

Designed in collaboration with Astro and 4As Malaysia, this special Berlin School advanced leadership program uses a dynamic mix of lectures, case studies and self-assessment exercises to help improve skills essential for effective decision making and leading change within organisations.

LINs Advertising & Marketing Sdn Bhd (more popularly known as “LINs.AD”) has come a long way, since it was founded in Singapore in 1989, as LINs Advertising & Marketing Pte Ltd.

From a budding agency staffed by only 5 personnel, LINs.AD today is a fully-accredited and widely-recognized agency, powered by more than 80 talented professionals. “More”, because as our portfolio of clients – which includes MNCs, SMEs and sole proprietorships – continues to grow well beyond the 1,000 mark, we continue to engage and develop motivated people to be assimilated into our rapidly expanding ranks.

Now comfortably settled in our own office-building at Fraser Business Park in the heart of KL, we continue to employ our motto of ‘Looking Inwards “N” Strategising’, in serving our rapidly-expanding portfolio of clientele.

We works best in providing integrated marketing campaigns from Above the Line to Below the Line, integrated with Digital Campaigns that help local SMEs and SMIs to strive building long-lasting brand in the minds of consumers.